Holster for a handgun

ABSTRACT

The invention provides an at least two-part modular rigid plastic handgun clip-on holster, comprising a rigid plastic inner holster component, having inner dimensions complimentary to the configuration of the outer sections of a handgun to be placed therein and an outer housing sized to receive and interchangeably interlock with alternative inner holster components, the alternative inner holster components having different inner dimensions respectively complimentary to the configuration of the outer sections of a predetermined handgun type to be placed therein.

The present invention relates to a handgun holster.

More particularly, the invention provides a rigid-plastic two-part holster securing the handgun while allowing fast drawing by the wearer.

Improvements to handgun holsters have been seen in many U.S. patents, for example U.S. Pat. No. 1,635,984 to Corriston, who in 1927 aptly described the dilemma faced by designers of holsters to this day. The two conflicting requirements are “to lock the revolver in the holster and prevent its accidental loss” and yet allow “the very quick withdrawal of the revolver from the holster.” She omits the need to prevent an opponent from snatching the revolver, maybe an eventuality not thought of in her day.

The advantages of the rigid plastic handgun holster, typically comprising of three injection molded castings joined together, have been explained in my previous patent, U.S. Pat No. 6,398,089. These advantages of the rigid holster over the conventional leather item include quicker draw and a more stable handgun orientation. The former patent did not however refer to a security device intended to prevent accidental loss of the weapon or its seizure by a hostile person. Protection against such eventualities is now known to be important to users, who will agree to pay a little extra for a holster having some form of security catch.

Prior art devices are disclosed in the following U.S. patents.

Hamby, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,811 discloses a spring-release sliding latch to be released by the user pushing a lever for a partial revolution. The device if not kept clean and oiled is likely to jam so as to prevent the spring releasing the latch.

Atkins describes a safety device relying on hook and loop fastener tabs in the nylon fabric holster described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,480,776. Before weapon withdrawal the user must separate the tabs by running a thumb therebetween. In view of this, It is doubted whether fast withdrawal is possible.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,655 to Barry discloses a holding strap assembly on a gun holster offering three degrees of security at the cost of extended draw times for the more secure modes. Use of the device may well require user instructions. The strap assembly employs hook and loop fastening pads.

Adjustability is also offered by the locking system proposed by Young in U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,799. A rotary control allows for setting to a fully locked position as well as various degrees of force needed to remove the gun from its holster. The problem is that gun owners can not know in advance when a sudden need for self defense will arise; a securely locked weapon at such a time can be fatal to the user.

A break-open front is a feature of the holster disclosed by Grummet in U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,236. The holster is restrained by a strap. A strap release device is provided as part of the holster. Release of the handgun thus requires two consecutive actions.

A solenoid activated lock release is featured in U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,103 to Tilley. The obvious problem is that mobile power sources and switching devices become unreliable after an extended time period, so that the weapon may be unavailable when needed.

Yet further variations of the trigger guard releasable catch are seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,157 to Mauriello et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,221 to Beletsky et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,013 to Collins and U.S. Pat. No. 6,752,300 to the present inventor.

In 1999 the present inventor introduced the rigid plastic injection-molded holster seen first in Israel Specification No. 129,683 and later in U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,089, which documents explain the various advantages of such construction.

After extended consultations with users of the holsters manufactured according to my U.S. Pat. No. 6,752,300 patent, it became evident that some users changed the handgun previously carried and found that the new weapon acquired did not fit well (or at all) into the existing holster, yet were reluctant to buy a completely new holder for the new handgun.

Furthermore, although the snatching of a handgun from the user of the U.S. Pat. No. 6,752,300 holster was difficult, nevertheless there was a demand by police users to further make access by an assailant to the gun release mechanism even more difficult. This, without degrading the fast draw action.

It is therefore one of the objects of the present invention to meet these apparently contradicting demands and to provide a two-part holster wherein the inner cavity of the inner component is fitted to the shape of the handgun to be held therein, while the outer profile of the inner holder is a standard shape to fit the standard outer component, thus allowing the manufacturer to produce a single standard outer compartment for use with inner holders designed for different guns.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a gun release mechanism which is practically inoperable by anyone other than the wearer of the holster.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to achieve these objects using hard plastic construction to lower manufacturing costs and to allow faster use of the handgun by the legal user thereof while providing one or more safety features to prevent the unauthorized withdrawal of said gun from its holster.

Most important is the object of enabling the user to release the trigger guard securing the weapon in the same natural hand movement which is executed by the user to grip and extract the weapon from the holster.

The present invention achieves the above objects by providing an at least two-part modular rigid plastic handgun clip-on holster, comprising a rigid plastic inner holster component, having inner dimensions complimentary to the configuration of the outer sections of a handgun to be placed therein and an outer housing sized to receive and interchangeably interlock with alternative inner holster components, said alternative inner holster components having different inner dimensions respectively complimentary to the configuration of the outer sections of a predetermined handgun type to be placed therein.

In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided a modular rigid plastic handgun holster wherein said holster is a top-draw security holster for a handgun having a trigger guard, wherein the modular security holster is oriented for wearing by a user and wherein said inner holster component has an open top, a back and at least partially-closed and non-opening front, and two side walls delimiting the holster cavity into which said handgun is to be placed, said inner component being further provided with a latch mechanism having a latch actuator upwardly protruding therefrom functionally connected to a latch element having a boss protruding into said holster cavity, wherein the relaxed state of said latch mechanism said boss extends into the trigger guard cavity of a handgun inserted in said holster preventing drawing said handgun therefrom and wherein upon depression of said latch actuator by the thumb of the user said boss is displaced away from said trigger guard thereby allowing the drawing of said hand gun from said holster cavity in a substantially straight upward motion through the open top of said holster.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided a modular rigid plastic handgun holster wherein said latch element is attached to a spring element which is adapted to return said element to its relaxed state after actuation.

In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided a modular rigid plastic handgun holster wherein said latch element comprises a pivotal hinged arm element having an end distal from said boss and positioned to be displaced towards said holster cavity thereby pivoting said boss away from said holster cavity.

Preferably there is provided a modular rigid-plastic handgun holster, wherein the distal end of said latch element is provided with a first surface facing said holster cavity and a second surface facing away from said holster cavity and said second surface is provided with a beveled area providing said distal arm element with an upwardly increasing cross section, said latch actuator being at least functionally connected to a further pivotal arm element positioned adjacent a lower end of said beveled surface and adapted for upward displacement to effect the displacement of said distal end of said latch element in the direction of said holster cavity.

In a most preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided a modular, rigid, plastic handgun holster, further comprising a safety retainer and release mechanism having a first component sized and positioned to prevent the depression of said latch actuator and a second component mechanically linked to said first component and accessible to the hand of said user for controlled displacement of said first component to a second position enabling depression of said latch actuator.

It should be noted that the present specification is not concerned with, and does not discuss a third component which is however a part of all holsters, that is a member which connects the holster to the belt of the user. This component is described in my U.S. Pat. No. 6,752,300 and has been found in practice to well serve its purpose.

It will thus be realized that the novel holster of the present invention serves to allow a fast draw despite the provision of the security latch provided therein, as a result of the combination of the rigid plastic case and the release lever which is activated by the thumb as the hand of the user descends to grip the weapon.

The release lever for the gun trigger guard is positioned between the gun and close to the body of the user. The release lever is positioned to be covered by the gun and can normally not even be seen by an assailant. An assailant attempting to grab the gun would thus need to use two hands—one hand to operate the release lever and the other to extract the gun from its holster. In the unlikely situation of any such attempt, while both hands of the assailant are occupied the gun owner has an excellent opportunity for self-defense.

As will be realized, the modular rigid-plastic handgun holster of the present invention is also advantageous for the manufacturer who can prepare a mold for the outer housing which can then be used with different inner housing components for different types and models of handguns.

The invention will now be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments with reference to the following illustrative figures so that it may be more fully understood.

With specific reference now to the figures in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the preferred embodiments of the present invention only and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the invention in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the two-part holster according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the same holster, showing the two parts separately;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an inner component showing a boss projecting into the cavity at a position arranged to secure the trigger guard of a handgun;

FIG. 4 is the same as FIG. 3, except that the actuator has been pressed downwards resulting in the withdrawal of the boss;

FIG. 5 is a detail view of a mechanism for latch withdrawal;

FIG. 6 is the same as FIG. 5 except that a return spring is added to the latch mechanism;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a most preferred embodiment of the latch release mechanism;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a handgun being held in the inner component of the holster;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a handgun being held in the inner component of the holster, wherein the safety retainer and release mechanism is in a locked configuration, thereby preventing the latch actuator from releasing the gun from the holster;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a handgun being held in the inner component of the holster, wherein the safety retainer and release mechanism is in an unlocked configuration, thereby allowing the latch actuator to release the gun from the holster;

FIG. 11 is a detail view of the safety retainer and release mechanism in the locked configuration; and

FIG. 12 is a detail view of the safety retainer and release mechanism in the unlocked configuration.

There is seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 a two-part modular rigid plastic handgun clip-on holster 10. In FIG. 1 the two components are assembled to each other ready for use, while in FIG. 2 the two components are seen before assembly.

The holster 10 comprises a rigid plastic inner holster component 12, having inner dimensions complimentary to the configuration of the outer sections of a handgun 14, seen in FIG. 8, to be placed therein. An outer housing 16 is sized to receive and interchangeably interlock with alternative inner holster components 12.

In the shown embodiment, interlocking of the two components 12, 16 is achieved by providing the inner component 12 with an outwardly urged catch member 18 which snaps into one of the corresponding recesses 20 seen in the outer housing 16.

Alternative inner holsters 12 have different inner dimensions respectively complementary to the configuration of the outer sections of a predetermined handgun 14 (FIG. 8) to be placed therein. Part of the gun release latch actuator 22 is seen on the side of the holster facing the user.

With regard to the rest of the figures, similar reference numerals have been used to identify similar parts.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, there is seen an inner holster component 24 of a modular rigid plastic handgun holster 10 seen in FIG. 1 wherein the holster is a top-draw security holster for a handgun 14 (FIG. 8) having a trigger guard.

The inner holster component 24 has an open top 26, a back 28 and a partially-closed and non-opening front 30. Two side walls 32, 34 delimit the holster cavity 36 into which the handgun 14 (FIG. 8) is to be placed. The inner component 24 is further provided with a latch mechanism 38 (seen in FIG. 7) having a latch actuator 22 upwardly protruding therefrom as seen in FIG. 3. The mechanism 38 is functionally connected to a latch element having a boss 40 protruding into the holster cavity 36. In the relaxed state of the latch mechanism 38 the boss 40 extends into the trigger guard cavity of a handgun 14 inserted in the inner component 24, preventing loss or removal of the handgun 14 therefrom.

Depression of the latch actuator 22 by the thumb of the user causes the boss 40 to be displaced away from the trigger guard as seen in FIG. 4, thereby allowing the drawing of the handgun 14 from the holster cavity 36 in a straight upward motion through the open top 26 of the holster.

FIG. 5 shows a detail of a modular rigid plastic handgun holster 42. The latch element 44 is supported by a second crank 46 which in turn is driven by a first crank 48. The first crank 48 is revolvably supported on a horizontal-axis pivot 50. The latch 44 is released by clockwise rotation of the second crank 46 and is relocked by anti-clockwise rotation thereof. The first crank 48 has a horizontal axis AA disposed at 90° to the second crank pivot 52. The second crank 46 is revolvably driven by the first crank 48 by means of an arm 54 when the latch actuator 22 is pushed downwards by the thumb of the user.

FIG. 6 is almost identical to FIG. 5, the difference being the addition of a spring element which is adapted to return the latch element 44 to its relaxed state after actuation. The figure shows a compression spring 56 being supported between a housing 58 and a face 60 of the second crank 62. The same effect could of course be achieved by use of a leaf spring, a tension spring or a flexible foam component.

Seen in FIG. 7 is an inner holster component 64 carrying a most preferred mechanism 38 for converting the downward movement of the latch actuator 22 into a withdrawal of the latch element 44 (seen in FIG. 6) from the holster cavity 36 holding the handgun 14 (FIG. 8). The distal end of the latch element 44 is provided with a first surface 64 (seen in FIG. 5) facing the holster cavity 36 and a second surface 66 facing away from the holster cavity 36. The second surface 66 is provided with a beveled surface 68 providing the distal arm element 70 with an upwardly increasing cross section 72. The latch actuator 74 is connected to a further pivotal arm element 76 positioned adjacent a lower end of the beveled surface 68, and is adapted for upward displacement. The latch element is pivoted at 78. Thus upward movement of the pivotal arm element 76 effects the displacement of the distal end of the latch element 44 (FIG. 6) in the direction of the holster cavity 36 to release the handgun 14 (FIG. 8) from the inner holster 64.

Referring now to FIG. 8, there is depicted a rigid plastic inner holster component 12, seen holding a handgun 14. The handgun substantially covers the gun release latch actuator 22, which is disposed on the side of the holster facing the user. The actuator is hardly visible to a possible assailant, and certainly inaccessible, while the rightful owner of the weapon can press down the actuator 22 while lowering a hand to draw the weapon.

According to the most preferred embodiment of the present invention, which is illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, the handgun holster 10 is provided with a mechanism 80 for locking or releasing the latch actuator 22. The mechanism 80, shown in detail in FIGS. 11 and 12, has a knob 84 allowing the user of the handgun to rotate the mechanism 80 around a swivel 82. The mechanism 80 also has a stub 86, that, when rotated by the user of the handgun toggling the knob 84, can be brought into a position wherein the stub 86 serves to block the pivotal arm element 76 from acting on the latch element 44 whereby the boss 40 remains within the trigger guard cavity of the handgun and does not allow the handgun to be withdrawn from the holster.

Alternatively, the stub 86 serves to block the latch element 44 from displacing wherein the boss 40 remains in the trigger guard cavity of the handgun and does not allow the handgun to be withdrawn from the holster.

Conversely, when the user of the handgun toggles the knob 84 and causes the mechanism 80 to rotate into position wherein the stub 86 clears the pivotal arm element 76, or, alternatively, the latch element 44, thereby allowing the extraction of the handgun by the handgun user.

For precise positioning of the mechanism 80 into either the safety position or into the release position, the outer, partially circumferential edge of the mechanism 80 is provided with two indentations 90 and 92, disposed thereon to correspond to either the safety, (locked gun) position, or to the gun release position, and a detent pin 88. The material used in manufacture of the mechanism 80 and the detent pin 88 is chosen to be rugged yet sufficiently resilient so as to allow the indentation 90 or 92 to be switched relatively to the detent pin 88 and to firmly engage the pin 88 while the pin is seated in either of the indentations.

The holster side wall is also provided with a stop 94 designed and disposed so as to prevent the mechanism 80 from rotating past the positions used to engage detent pin 88 within indentations 90 or 92.

The materials and operationally connected surfaces of mechanism 80, the latch element 44 and the pivotal arm element 76 are designed and configured for the stub 86 to firmly crimp either the latch element 44 or the pivotal arm element 76 whenever there are continuous attempts to press the latch actuator 22 without first toggling the knob 84 to the release position thereof.

It will be evident to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the foregoing illustrative embodiments and that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein. 

1. An at least two-part modular rigid plastic handgun clip-on holster, comprising a rigid plastic inner holster component, having inner dimensions complimentary to the configuration of the outer sections of a handgun to be placed therein and an outer housing sized to receive and interchangeably interlock with alternative inner holster components, said alternative inner holster components having different inner dimensions respectively complimentary to the configuration of the outer sections of a predetermined handgun type to be placed therein.
 2. A modular rigid plastic handgun holster according to claim 1, wherein said holster is a top-draw security holster for a handgun having a trigger guard, wherein the modular security holster is oriented for wearing by a user and wherein said inner holster component has an open top, a back and at least partially-closed and non-opening front, and two side walls delimiting the holster cavity into which said handgun is to be placed, said inner component being further provided with a latch mechanism having a latch actuator upwardly protruding therefrom functionally connected to a latch element having a boss protruding into said holster cavity, wherein the relaxed state of said latch mechanism said boss extends into the trigger guard cavity of a handgun inserted in said holster preventing drawing said handgun therefrom and wherein upon depression of said latch actuator by the thumb of the user said boss is displaced away from said trigger guard thereby allowing the drawing of said hand gun from said holster cavity in a substantially straight upward motion through the open top of said holster.
 3. A modular rigid plastic handgun holster according to claim 2, wherein said latch element comprises a pivotal hinged arm element having an end distal from said boss and positioned to be displaced towards said holster cavity thereby pivoting said boss away from said holster cavity.
 4. A modular rigid plastic handgun holster according to claim 3, wherein said latch element is attached to a spring element which is adapted to return said element to its relaxed state after actuation.
 5. A modular rigid plastic handgun holster according to claim 3, wherein the distal end of said latch element is provided with a first surface facing said holster cavity and a second surface facing away from said holster cavity and said second surface is provided with a beveled area providing said distal arm element with an upwardly increasing cross section, said latch actuator being at least functionally connected to a further pivotal arm element positioned adjacent a lower end of said beveled surface and adapted for upward displacement to effect the displacement of said distal end of said latch element in the direction of said holster cavity.
 6. A modular, rigid, plastic handgun holster according to claim 2, further comprising a safety retainer and release mechanism having a first component sized and positioned to prevent the depression of said latch actuator and a second component mechanically linked to said first component and accessible to the hand of said user for controlled displacement of said first component to a second position enabling depression of said latch actuator.
 7. A modular, rigid, plastic handgun holster according to claim 6, wherein said safety retainer and release mechanism is rotatably mounted on said holster side wall, said safety retainer and release mechanism having a partially circumferential edge, said edge further having indentations, wherein each of said indentations is disposed on said edge so as to resiliently engage a detention pin mounted on said holster side wall, wherein said first indentation corresponds to a first position of said safety retainer and release mechanism preventing said depression of said latch actuator, when said second component is displaced to correspond to said first position. 